Chapter 28 Contest

　　—To yield is to prepare a better attack. A fist must first be drawn back before it can strike with greater force.

　　According to Ge Wu, Stone City had been built upon an open stretch within the forest, its back against a great mountain from which all the building stone of the city had been quarried.

　　At the center of the city rose a pyramid constructed of stone—the tallest structure in Stone City, soaring into the clouds and comprising five levels.

　　The pyramid was trapezoidal, oriented north to south; hundreds of steps led from the front face to the summit. Upon the platform at the top stood a temple dedicated to the Yellow Clan Celestial Gods.

　　In the chieftain’s banquet hall the walls were filled with NightBright Flowers, blazing with light.

　　Upon the table a great basin of StabbingTiger meat had already been set out, prepared by boiling or roasting; the entire hall was filled with the rich aroma of meat.

　　The wine was fruit wine, its fragrance strong. Entertainers sat to one side singing unknown ballads.

　　Gongdian, Ge Xiong, and the others chewed meat and drank wine; the atmosphere was lively.

　　Heroic tales of the recent hunt circulated around the table.

　　The few survivors of the StabbingTiger pursuit, having witnessed with their own eyes the tragic deaths of many brothers, reflected upon the uncertainty of life and its brevity. Under the stimulus of alcohol they began to hold forth at length.

　　Yi Wu raised a thumb: “Gong Kang alone, barehanded, killed two Stabbing Tigers—truly the foremost warrior under heaven.”

　　Ge Wu pointed at Huamei and disagreed: “That Gong Kang is a warrior is beyond doubt; whether he is the foremost under heaven is another matter. This master of the HeavenAbandoned Clan tore both front paws from a living Stabbing Tiger with bare hands—I consider him the true foremost.”

　　Ge Wu had also received the gag order and could not reveal the slightest information about the celestial gods.

　　“Neither of you is right. The true foremost is this one.” Ding Wen pointed at Dong Yifeng. “He stood still without moving; a mere wave of the hand and two Stabbing Tigers died!”

　　“He used the magic of the HeavenAbandoned Clan, not divine strength!”

　　“Nonsense—you are wrong!”

　　“Your dogfart nonsense is what is wrong!”

　　Each side had its supporters; opinions were held firmly and neither would yield.

　　They had drunk too much wine; one sentence after another they argued, pointing at one another’s noses and cursing, almost coming to blows.

　　Gong Kang had originally cared nothing for such empty titles and remained indifferent to the dispute, yet the buzzing in his ears like a swarm of bees and the din of flies made his head swell.

　　He suddenly stood and roared: “What do you think you are doing? Every one of you is so capable—why did you not kill a few more Stabbing Tigers for me to see? All you know is internal strife!”

　　Gong Kang’s roar was effective; the quarreling parties immediately fell silent.

　　Just when everyone thought the matter settled, Gong Kang walked up to Huamei: “I have not the slightest interest in any title of ‘foremost under heaven.’ Yet tonight we have only drunk wine and lack entertainment. Since everyone is so eager to know the answer, why do we two not test each other and see whose strength is greater? What is your opinion?”

　　Gong Kang did not address Huamei as “celestial god” because on the return journey Gongdian had privately warned him never to reveal the identities of Dong and Huamei in public.

　　Gong Kang’s desire to test Huamei was not entirely the result of the crowd’s agitation. Having personally witnessed Huamei tear a Stabbing Tiger apart with bare hands, he felt the mutual recognition of heroes and an itch in his own hands; he wished to measure just how great Huamei’s strength truly was.

　　The atmosphere in the hall at once grew lively again. Originally they had merely been idle and debating superiority without expecting an answer; none had imagined Gong Kang himself would step forward to challenge Huamei. All turned to look at Huamei to see how he would respond.

　　Huamei smiled upon hearing the challenge. Being datadriven, he had long wished to test the actual strength of this human who was called the foremost warrior of the Gongyou Clan.

　　“Young Master, I am willing to accompany you.”

　　“Then let us decide by best of three. For the first bout, shall we try armwrestling?”

　　Everyone crowded around. Some wagered on Gong Kang, others on Huamei. Amid the noisy encouragement the two sat down and began to armwrestle.

　　Gong Kang’s biceps were extremely well developed; his thick arms far surpassed those of ordinary men.

　　Huamei was a bionic robot, outwardly resembling an ordinary human, yet inwardly composed of steel components. From external appearance his skin was fair and he looked refined, rather like a scholar. Moreover his frame appeared slender, with thin arms and legs that could not compare with Gong Kang’s muscular build; consequently many wagered on Gong Kang.

　　“Begin!” At Referee Yi Wu’s command the two began to wrestle.

　　Gong Kang exerted every ounce of strength; his biceps swelled high and looked formidable. The veins on his neck stood out and his face turned crimson; it was clear he was using his full power. Huamei, however, remained expressionless.

　　The solid wooden table creaked under the pressure of their elbows, as though about to collapse.

　　Huamei silently admired: “Enough—Gong Kang’s strength truly exceeds that of ordinary men. His wrist power is at least ten times that of an average person.”

　　The force data transmitted through Gong Kang’s arm was astonishing. Huamei instantly matched the strength value of his own wrist to the data received from Gong Kang’s arm.

　　Humans, after all, are not machines; in endurance there is no comparison. No matter how much effort Gong Kang expended, he could not move Huamei’s arm a fraction. Gong Kang realized that his opponent’s strength far surpassed his own.

　　As time passed Gong Kang wished to concede; while gradually withdrawing his force he felt the opponent’s strength withdrawing in synchrony with his own.

　　Their hands relaxed almost simultaneously. Gong Kang stood: “I concede this bout.”

　　“Young Master, it should be considered a draw; neither has won nor lost.”

　　It had been a dead heat; the wagering spectators on both sides breathed sighs of relief.

　　“I admire your strength with my whole being. Next I should like to request instruction in combat technique.”

　　“Young Master, I do not know combat.”

　　“You are too modest. The precision and force with which you instantly seized both front paws of a Stabbing Tiger were perfect.”

　　Huamei now regretted having agreed to the contest. He had been curious only about Gong Kang’s strength data; he had not expected Gong Kang to be in earnest. Where had he ever learned combat technique?

　　“Young Master, shall we simply test fists and feet? Let us not use blades or spears—those easily injure people. In a test of fists and feet both sides should stop at the first touch.”

　　“As it should be.”

　　“However, before we begin I have one request: I need to warm up.”

　　“You appear to be an expert; I shall give you sufficient time to warm up.”

　　The spectators again began wagering on the combat; the number of bets placed on Huamei increased markedly.

　　When Gong Kang first proposed the contest with Huamei, Gongdian had intended to stop it; yet seeing the crowd’s high spirits, and himself curious about the true capabilities of these humanclan celestial gods, he tacitly permitted the match.

　　Ge Xiong likewise knew Huamei’s identity and, having heard the detailed account of the hunt from Ge Wu, was filled with curiosity about Huamei’s abilities and watched everything upon the floor with wide eyes.

　　At that moment the tables and chairs of the Bear Tribe banquet hall were pushed aside, leaving ample space in the center.

　　Gong Kang performed warmup exercises.

　　Huamei sat crosslegged in the center with eyes closed. He was not warming up at all; he merely needed a little time to rapidly scan the videos of history’s greatest human combat masters stored in his mind and to learn their techniques.

　　Gong Kang was ready, yet seeing Huamei still sitting with closed eyes he could only suppress his impatience and remind himself: “In a contest one must never be restless.”

　　Before long Huamei felt confident, opened his eyes, and said: “Ready—please begin.”

　　The two formally engaged.

　　Dong Yifeng, standing among the crowd, watched tensely with wide eyes. During the armwrestling he had felt no concern for Huamei, knowing Huamei’s design; anyone who challenged Huamei in pure strength was certain to lose.

　　Combat, however, was entirely different. Combat required experience, speed, power, and accuracy. Gong Kang’s performance in previous fights was known to all, whereas Huamei had never been designed for fighting.

　　At the outset the movements of the two upon the floor looked rather comical. Whenever Gong Kang closed in, Huamei simply stepped aside; neither threw the first punch.

　　Gong Kang’s style was simple: remain still to counter movement, strike after the opponent moves, and win by power and speed. He rarely initiated; when he did, the blow was decisive.

　　Huamei, by contrast, moved with sliding steps, employing modern boxing methods against the killer Gong Kang—a spectacle that even made Professor Dong smile.

　　“Fight! Fight!” the surrounding spectators called out in dissatisfaction.

　　Gong Kang could finally restrain himself no longer and drove a fist toward Huamei’s face; the two closed and exchanged blows.

　　In all the martial arts under heaven, only speed is invincible.

　　Gong Kang’s fists moved like lightning, each blow whistling with wind; now he attacked the upper gates, now the lower. Every technique was a killing stroke; the slightest misstep by the opponent would mean blood upon the ground.

　　Huamei’s reactions were extremely agile. He moved with sliding steps, dodging forward, backward, left, and right, seeking openings in Gong Kang’s defense and counterattacking, each time uttering strange cries.

　　Professor Dong smiled: Huamei was imitating Bruce Lee, and doing so rather convincingly.

　　Huamei’s method was to meet speed with speed. His techniques appeared bizarre to Gong Kang: each time he parried an attack he simultaneously counterstruck, defense and offense fused into a single continuous motion.

　　Before Huamei, Gong Kang’s advantages of speed and power could not be fully brought to bear—a situation Gong Kang rarely encountered when fighting others.

　　As the exchange continued Huamei noticed that Gong Kang’s footwork and the speed of his fists and feet gradually slowed. He reflected that Gong Kang was, after all, human and could not maintain machinelike highspeed operation indefinitely.

　　The slowing Gong Kang presented Huamei with an opportunity. When Gong Kang threw a punch Huamei blocked with his left arm and simultaneously drove a jab with his right.

　　Gong Kang appeared unable to dodge—yet this was a deliberate opening. When Huamei’s fist was only an inch or two from Gong Kang’s face, Gong Kang’s left hand flashed like lightning, seized Huamei’s right fist, and yanked it backward while raising his left leg in a sideways kick aimed at Huamei’s lower body.

　　Two sharp sounds reached the ear; both Gong Kang and Huamei fell simultaneously. The entire sequence had occurred so rapidly that the spectators could not clearly see what had happened.

　　After Gong Kang seized Huamei’s right wrist, Huamei silently exclaimed that the situation was bad. While being pulled he continued the forward motion of his right fist, exploding the punch at extremely short range with maximum force; the fist grazed Gong Kang’s left shoulder.

　　The power was so great that even Gong Kang, foremost warrior of the Gongyou Clan, could not withstand it and toppled.

　　As Gong Kang fell, the foot he had kicked already scraped Huamei’s leg; Huamei lost his balance and likewise staggered to the ground.

　　Huamei was the first to rise. He brushed the dust from his garments, walked to Gong Kang, extended a hand, and pulled him up.

　　Then Huamei clasped his fists toward Gong Kang: “Young Master, I yield!”

　　“Who won that bout?” the wagering spectators discussed among themselves.

　　“Whoever stands first wins—Gong Kang lost.” Those who had bet on Huamei rejoiced.

　　Gong Kang rubbed his left shoulder: “Haha, you are indeed the strongest opponent I have ever met. Not only is your boxing exquisite; your ability to withstand blows is also rare in my experience.”

　　“Although I did not use full force in that kick, an ordinary person receiving such a blow would be unable to stand for one or two months. I am impressed. Yet one matter remains unclear to me.”

　　“Please speak, Young Master.”

　　“Your final punch was extremely strange. How could you generate such force at so short a distance?”

　　“That is called an inchpunch; it emphasizes exploding maximum power within the shortest possible range. The boxing method I employed is called Jeet Kune Do, created by the greatest combat master in our history—Bruce Lee.”

　　“Is that so? If I could one day receive instruction from him it would be one of the great fortunes of my life!” Gong Kang walked up to Huamei and patted his shoulder. “However, there remains one more bout.”

　　“Ah, Young Master—before the contest I said we would not test weapons.”

　　“Haha, rest easy. This bout I am certain to win. We shall compete in drinking, haha…”
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